Stockport - Cheshire - England

Lovely parkland track well worth a visit with some great holes and superb condition usually

At Stockport Golf Club you will find a moderately undulating mature parkland course that will ask tough questions of every part of your game.

The first five holes are a real test; the 463-yard par four opener and the stroke-index one fourth in particular. The middle section of the layout provides the best opportunity to improve your scorecard with three par fives (holes 6, 9 and 12) in the space of just six holes. However, in this mix you also have the treacherous par-three eighth and the demanding tenth.

The eighth hole is worthy of special mention. Played slightly downhill I wouldn’t normally be a fan of a par-three that is closely bordered by out-of-bounds at both sides and behind the green but it actually works really well here. However, it is the sloping green that falls from front-to-back and left-to-right, in an almost reverse-redan fashion, that makes it so good. Despite maxing out at 201 yards it is effectively a par 3 ½ hole!

The real strength of Stockport lies in the options it presents from the tee; on a number of occasions you can chose to play safe to a wider part of the fairway or risk a longer club but risk flirting with bunkers or trees. The greens are also really well protected by bunkers and with glassy greens all departments of your game need to be in good working order to score well at this delightful Cheshire course.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.